This is a must read for white social workers: My Grandmother’s Hands by Resemaa Menakem

I started my journey with the book, My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem in July as part of my continuing work to hold myself accountable to diving deeper into my own white privilege and internalized white supremacy. Mainly to continue to own my responsibility for unlearning so many biases both unconscious and conscious but also to keep the memory of so many black and brown people who have died at the hands of the police. It took me a few months to read this book mostly because it was a lot processing, letting it sit and coming back to it with openness and willingness to learn.  To be honest, I wasn't always in a place to hear what Mr. Menakem had to say but I knew it is important for my own growth and unlearning process. 

It is also important on another level for me and that is to continue to be a witness of so many black and brown people who have died at the hands of police and other white people.  Even now as I write this, I see the withdrawal that has happened since last summer.  Many white people I knew had BLM on their Facebook, would speak out as advocates and wanted to see real change.  Like many things that are difficult, complex in their nature, or occur in a moment of crisis, we don't sustain the energy and passion long term. We can response in a moment of crisis but often the real work is maintaining our presence and work long term.  Working through complex, personal and highly emotional experiences and cultural changes does not happen overnight.  While small changes in perceptions, attitudes and beliefs is a piece, it can be painful to keep with it. The United States has a long history (since the early 1600s) of slavery, oppression, colonization and some really awful actions. Things will not change overnight, mostly because of the complexity of the system but also the benefit that so many people who are white receive through just being white. 
I want to take the time over the next few blog posts to write about the important messages I received through his book and why this book must be on the list of all social workers, therapists, or other mental health professionals.  According to the most recent code of ethics by the NASW, social workers are called to be anti-racist with this message being targeted(in my belief) to all white social workers. 

Change in racism, oppression and privilege will not happen through policy

According to Resmaa Menakem, there is a white culture in the United States.  As much as we have learned this is bad, wrong or shameful; there is a culture of whiteness that is shared by white people. This in itself isn’t the problem but how that community uses their privilege, power, resources and other mechanisms to exploit, oppression and maintain their “power over” others.  To make fundamental changes in the structures of racism, we need white leaders to show up/speak out and provide anti racist leadership. Let’s face it, as white people, we tend to listen and hear when other white people speak. Often its not conscious or planned but a part of unconscious training and bias.  We don't afford the same luxury to groups like people of color, women, LGBTQI+ and many “othered” groups. We need white leadership to call out the micro-aggressions, to show another way to be a white person in the US that is not using privilege, supremacy and oppression. We need white leadership to have the difficult conversations, be vulnerable in calling out their own beliefs/biases and overall provide another path for being white in the larger community.  It is not enough to tell a white person to stop being racist, but we need to understand what that looks like and how that shows up in the world.  It is not the responsibly of any community other than the white community to pave the path.  It will take work, lots of uncomfortable experiences, being present with ourselves and an openness to listen/learn.

Tune in to the next blog post for additional thoughts!